Shaken, Not Stirred
by restive nature
Summary: Sequel to Truffled. It's a choc-a-holics dream come true! Chocolate party at Crash! Pairing M/A


Shaken, Not Stirred

Restive Nature (aka Bavite)

Rating: M (for sexual themes)

Pairing: Max/ Alec

Genre: PWP

Type: Sequel to A Long Day's Journey

Timeline: General late Season 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Dark Angel. The characters and all recognizable settings belong to the creators, Cameron/ Eglee. So don't sue!

Summary: Sequel to Truffled. It's a choc-a-holics dream come true! Chocolate party at Crash!

**A/N- This chapter is dedicated to Carebear369369, a prize in my Christmas Fiction Contest. Congrats!**

Alec surveyed the crowd before him. Everyone was laughing, talking, dancing or gathered about the various forms of entertainment that the local bar and general watering hole of his and Max's Jam Pony brethren offered. And knowing that he was mostly instrumental in pulling off this sugar induced mania made a warm glow flow through him. Of course, that could also be the result of his girlfriend having slipped up behind him and wrapping her arms about his waist.

"Oh my God," she giggled. "Look what you did," she pointed away from them, aiming his direction towards their good friend Sketchy. Alec grinned as he saw the lanky messenger dancing like a maniac... all by himself.

"Do you think we should tell him that he lost his dance partner about three songs back?" Alec chuckled, turning his head slightly. Max was up on her tiptoes so that she could rest her chin on Alec's shoulder.

"Oh, don't," she half-whined. "It'd break his heart."

"And take away OC's entertainment," Alec added, gesturing towards the black woman where she was gaping and pointing with one hand, while the other held a plate with the last of the dark chocolate dipped animal crackers that she had shown a marked preference for.

"That too," Max nodded, wrapping her arm securely around her boyfriend once more. "I can't believe how many people showed up."

"I can," Alec grunted. "Mention free anything, much less chocolate and this is what you end up with."

"Well, at least we figured out how to tame Normal," Max sighed happily. Who knew that their boss was also a chocolate junkie. The man had overheard Sketch talking about the party and had managed to purloin the details. He'd shown up almost before the party was to start, happy to help Alec and Max set up. Miguel had no problem letting them have Crash for the night. Since everyone invited was the usual Saturday night crowd anyways, he wasn't losing any business, or money. In fact, under the sugar induced craziness, he was making better tips than ever and he was seriously considering starting to add some theme nights to the entertainment.

The only problem with Normal being there was that the work gang had ended up finding out more details about their bosses life than anyone wanted to know, including the fact that he preferred chocolate Ex-lax over any other kind, that was just how much he loved chocolate. But that shock had passed and the generally maniacally driven task master had mellowed quite a bit while he played foosball with Janet, one of the part-timers he occasionally employed.

"Oh, what's this?" Alec grinned as he caught sight of someone at the front door. A couple of people, a guy and a girl, moved into the building and down the steps and Alec was pleased to see that at least one was recognizable. "Hey Maxie," he muttered, turning to regard her, "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay," Max nodded, tilting her face up to accept a quick kiss from him. There were still some people that found this amusing, given how loudly and often the pair had bickered before. But now, most everyone wished them the best. Especially since, like chocolate took off the hard edges of Normal, Alec most definitely smoothed out Max's acerbity to others. For the most part at least. She wouldn't be Max unless there was some fire to her nature. Max watched Alec with a contented murmur in her throat as he approached some people that she didn't recognize. Maybe they were people that he knew from elsewhere and just never had a chance to introduce her to. Not that that had been a common occurrence. They tended to hang in the same circles.

After another lingering glance at the backside of her boyfriend's delectable anatomy, Max twirled away to find her best friend. Cindy was still where Max had seen her last and she wound her way through the large crowd, accepting thanks for the party and compliments on the menu as she went.

"Hey Boo," she called, drawing Cindy's attention away from the spectical that was Sketchy.

"Hey girl," Cindy returned with a huge grin. She held out one hand to hug around her friend's shoulder while she deftly moved her precious plate of chocolate out of Max's reach. Max grunted at the obvious maneuver. The table of treats they had provided had long since been cleared and in truth, Max had had her fill. Of course, that now meant that she was good and ready for the next part of her and Alec's tradition. Thinking back on the part that the bar had played in the genesis of their relationship, Max sighed happily. She'd always loved this place, being a home away from home to her. But now she had even more reason to love it. Even if she and Alec had agreed that they'd never indulge in certain things in certain places again. Namely the women's bathroom in the back. But still, the plan was that after the party, they were heading back to Alec's,just on the off chance that Cindy managed to wrangle some company into coming home with her.

"I think Miguel would appreciate a little clean-up before Alec and I head out," Max hinted. Cindy pulled her attention away from the hot girl across the room that was also laughing at their haphazard friend.

"Where is ya boy?" Cindy asked as she followed after Max to where they'd set up folding tables to hold the platters of chocolate.

"He saw someone he knew and went to say hi," Max supplied. "I'll find him in a minute." They arrived at the paper covered tables and Cindy chuckled.

"Good idea to cover everything with paper," she noticed.

"Makes clean-up a breeze," Max agreed as she casually rolled the remnants into one huge ball, table cloth, paper plates and all. Cindy, after perching her plate up on a shelf, followed suit with the second table and the two women made short work of dumping the paper products in the large trash can before they pushed the tables over and knocked the legs back to the folded position. They hefted them over to the wall so that they would be out of the way.

"So?" Max asked after Cindy retrieved her plate. "Is my after party care package all ready to go?"

"You know it is Suga," Cindy laughed, holding one of her precious crackers aloft. "Original Cindy got it stashed somewhere secret. Jus' let me know when ya'll ready to go an' this girl will grab it for ya."

"Sounds good," Max nodded once, her words partly drowned as some rambunctious young men raced by her, the one in the lead shaking something that looked suspiciously like women's underwear above his head. She didn't even want to go there. "I'll go see how close Alec is to being ready to go."

Matching actions to words, Max spun on her heel and headed off in the direction her boyfriend had gone. Just as she was slipping up behind him, he turned suddenly, a wide-eyed look of mild panic upon his face.

"There you are!" he exclaimed loudly, and with much relief from what Max could tell. "Babe, let me introduce you to some friends of mine. Biggs and CeCe." Max heard the unnatural stressing of their names and the couple that had been bickering, stopped cold and turned to glare at Alec in unison. Alec quickly wrapped his arms around Max, pulling her before him, almost like a living shield. "Guys, this is Max."

The woman, CeCe recovered first. "Nice to meet you Max," she offered with a tight smile. She geld out one hand to Max and the dark haired woman took it cautiously. She could tell already that Biggs and CeCe were Manticore alum, having caught a glimpse of Biggs' bar code as they bickered. "We would have been here sooner, but butt head here wouldn't listen to my directions!"

"That's because they were so shitty," Biggs protested automatically and with that, they were both back into an argument that Max assumed had been going on for a while. She glanced up at Alec, wondering if the arguments she and Alec had had, looked to others what this one looked like to her. And judging from the impish grin on his face, she was guessing that it did. She heard the word chocolate ring out many times and knew that Cece's main beef was that they had arrived too late to get any.

"Go ahead," she sighed heavily. Knowing Alec, he'd stashed some chocolate somewhere on his body for later. And also knowing his mischievous side, she knew exactly what he had planned.

"You sure?" he grinned even as he reached into his pocket. Max nodded.

"More than sure and definitely ready to head home for round two," she winked at her lover and Alec happily and obligingly lowered his head to capture her lips, even as he deftly tossed a King sized Snickers bar between the vehemently arguing transgenics. The sudden silence between them as both glanced down at this new development bothered Max and Alec not at all. Alec's lips slanted across hers, his mouth warm and inviting, the different types of chocolate, at least one of everything they'd made, caressing her senses and heightening her desire.

"Let's go," Alec whispered after a moment.

"Hang on just a second," Max directed, glancing around for Cindy.

"No, you want to go home," Alec argued with a wicked gleam in his eyes, "then we're going home." Before Max could protest, Alec had leaned over and caught her around the waist. The shriek that escaped her lips was automatic and then the laughter began.

"Put me down Alec," she giggled helplessly, knowing that no harm would come to her from her perch across his shoulder. Well, maybe there was some danger of an overfull tummy, but she realized right away that Alec was taking care not to jostle her too much.

"Nuh uh," he grunted as he darted through the laughing crowd. "It's bye bye time."

"Remind me next time to limit your sugar intake," Max chuckled as she wriggled all over. "You're worse than a two year old."

"Maybe worse," Alec laughed as he made it to the stairs. "But a helluva lot cuter."

"I don't know about that," Max grunted. She was still trying to catch Cindy's eye, but the petite woman was nowhere to be found. "Cindy!" she yelled, hoping to be heard above the din.

"What are you yelling about woman!" Alec grunted again, though his voice was teasing and pleased. He had been having such a blast all night.

"Cindy!" Max called again as they reached the door. Alec had pulled it open with his free hand, but Max had caught the door jamb with both hands and was holding on for all she was worth.

"Comin' Boo!" she finally heard Cindy shout and saw the black woman emerging from the back room, a brown paper bag in hand.

Alec continued to tug, resorting to tickling and when that didn't work, tilting his head so that he could blow a raspberry on the exposed skin where her t-shirt had ridden up a little. But Max was determined. There was encouragement on both sides shouted as Cindy fought her way through the crowd. Finally she made it up the steps and with one hand, handed Max the bag, while with the other, she gave Alec a good shot on the ass for acting like a typical caveman. Laughter chased the lovers out of the building.

"What's that?" Alec demanded as he set Max upright on her own two feet once more, after they had cleared the building.

"none of your business," she sassed back, pulling the bag away from his prying eyes and hands.

"Come on Max," he whined mockingly, catching her around the waist playfully once more. Max turned around quickly so that her back was to his chest. "You delayed us going home and having sex for it. What is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Max taunted. "If you behave yourself that is."

"I can never behave myself," Alec grinned down at her. "You know that. Especially when it comes to you."

"Did you hear that?" Max asked suddenly, all thoughts of their banter chased from her mind.

"Uh uh," Alec shook his head, though his arms still held her tightly against him. "Quit stalling and tell me what's in the bag."

"No, I'm serious Alec," Max used her elbow to gently push him back. "I thought I heard something." She waited for just a moment and then the noise came again. This time Alec heard it as well. Perking his head up, he glanced around the alleyway that they were in.

"Yeah, I caught it that time," he agreed with her unspoken question. "What the hell is that?" Quickly, both transgenics pinpointed the noise, heading out of the alley and into the main street. The noise was heard again, just as they both cautiously peeked around the corner of the building. Their eyes widened as they took in the obvious cause of the noise they'd heard and all at once they burst out into shocked laughter.

"Oh man," Alec gasped and wheezed as he tugged Max towards her Ninja. She was still cradling her bag, but laughing just as hard as Alec was. "They're never gonna hear the end of this. I can tell you that!"

"Because you'll be the one teasing them," Max concurred. She took a moment to secure the bag in the undercarriage compartment under her baby's seat before she climbed on. Alec slid on after her easily. The roar of the motorcycle's engine just barely managed to drown out the noise that was growing in strength and frequency. They pulled away, still chuckling and faintly dismayed by what they had just seen.

Alec was still, as they entered his apartment, trying to discover what it was that Max was guarding so fiercely in the bag that Cindy had provided to Max. But she just resolutely pushed him towards the sofa in his living room area. "You go sit down over there and relax," Max instructed. "I'll be there in a second."

"Oh come on baby," Alec whined as he pulled his jacket off and threw it over the back of his sofa. "Don't I get at least one little hint?"

"No!" Max snapped out sharply, though she was anything but displeased with him. Truthfully, she was enjoying tormenting him like this. Especially since she knew that she was eventually going to let him know what was in the bag. "And I'm seriously considering keeping this all to myself now."

"Oh, you wouldn't be that cruel, would you?" Alec demanded as he sat on the sofa to pull his boots off. He noticed that Max had also removed her jacket and threw it over top his own. She certainly was getting comfortable with his home. He wondered if maybe tonight was the night to ask her what he'd been wanting to, but was still just a little apprehensive about approaching. He certainly had no experience in the matter and doubted that she did as well. That was both an alarm and a comfort. Well, more so a comfort than anything. That meant if he somehow managed to ask and didn't do so well, then at least she had no previous experience to judge by and would therefore hopefully cut him some slack.

And by the time he'd thought that through, he realized that Max was in the kitchen removing whatever it was from the bottle. Hearing the clinking of glass, he let his mind wander, wondering what she could be up to. Of course he too knew that Max would only drag this out for so long. If she had a surprise planned up her sleeve, as she so obviously did, it would ruin all her enjoyment in the planning not to let him know at some point.

"Am I gonna like this surprise?" he asked loudly enough to be heard over whatever it was she was doing. He watched as, with her back to him, she moved over to the dilapidated old refrigerator and reached into the freezer section. What on earth could she need out of there? It was obvious once she pulled out a bag of crushed ice. And bottles. That would mean drinks. Well, that was all right by him.

"I promise," Max called back. "You're gonna love it!"

"I hope so," Alec returned teasingly. "Cause even by your own admission, you might end your stint in the kitchen with a trip to the hospital to get my stomach pumped."

"Mixing Kool-Aid is not rocket science Alec," Max snarked back.

"You're making juice?" Alec demanded with a frown. That didn't seem right.

"I'm not tellin'," Max laughed again. "Just give me another minute, all right?"

"Oh all right," Alec leaned back on the couch, pretending to pout. But instead, he was just enjoying the feeling of being able to watch Max as much as he liked without anyone interrupting with demands to work or have a drink or any of the thousands of other interruptions the outside world offered. And it wasn't even that she was puttering about in the kitchen. Hell, Alec didn't care where she was. He loved watching her when she lounged across the sofa, reading one of her books. Or spending a few minutes in the bathroom with her while she brushed out her long locks. Sitting across the table as they ate any of the take-out they usually ended up with since neither of them could cook. Yeah, Alec decided, he was definitely asking her tonight.

"Okay," Max murmured softly as she approached Alec on the sofa, both hands cautiously held behind her back. "Close your eyes," she instructed softly. Alec, with a goofy little grin upon his face, came back to the moment and glanced up at her. Without bothering to wonder again what she was up to, Alec complied without further protest, letting his eyes drift shut, his face turned up to hers. He didn't protest when she slid across his lap to straddle his legs.

Alec simply let his hands move naturally to cup her body as he heard a light chuckle pass through her lips. Something clinked again, sounding like ice in a glass. And then her lips were pressed against his. Alec felt her tongue dart out, moist and enticing against his lips. He parted his own, allowing her the gently demanded entry and was startled by the stinging cold rush of something into his mouth. He swallowed reflexively and the burn traveled down his throat. He was about to protest, but didn't for two reasons. One, Max's mouth was still pressed against his, her tongue finally darting in to caress his own. Secondly, the stinging cold had been replaced by a familiar rush and Alec suddenly recognized the flavor medley she had presented him with. Chocolate and alcohol. His eyes flashed open and he pulled back, grinning.

"Mmm," he groaned softly. "What was that?"

"Chocolate martini," Max grinned down at him and then turned her attention to swirling the alcoholic mix in the glass she'd brought with her.

"That's what Cindy gave you?" he understood suddenly why she'd been so careful with the bag she'd held, not wanting to break the glass inside.

"She gave me the white creme de cacao and the vodka, since you were out," Max informed him. "You already had the ice. And technically speaking, not so much martini as a shot."

"It's good, whatever it is," Alec smiled and removed one hand from her thigh to reach for the glass, but Max teasingly held it out of his reach.

"Nuh uh," she grunted, leaning back slightly from him. "Mine!"

"Oh no Maxie," Alec chuckled. "We share the chocolate, remember? One of our most basic and most beloved rules?"

"Oh share yes," Max laughed. "But give you? Straight up? Nope. Besides, I think it'll be more fun this way."

"What way?" Alec demanded, his body tensing minutely as Max contemplated her glass again.

"Like this," she giggled softly as her hand shook just the tiniest bit and the liquid sloshed over the edge of the glass, splashing onto his neck. Alec let out a small gasp of surprise that was quickly brushed away as Max leaned over him once more, employing lips and tongue to dash the moisture away.

"Oh yeah," Alec murmured heatedly, the desire that had been simmering all night returning in full force. "This is good. Hang on." He nudged her torso away from him and sat up a little to remove his shirt. He pulled the button down shirt free from the waistband of his jeans and quickly unbuttoned it while Max watched, fishing an ice cube from the glass tumbler and sucking contentedly on it. Once completely loose, Alec let it fall from his body, to gather at his waist, caught between his body and the sofa. His t-shirt followed just as swiftly and he reclined, fully happy to let Max have her way with him. The pleased grin, tinted with just a hint of smug feralness made his eyes darken with lust even more.

The ice cube that Max had been toying with had barely any chance to melt when she pulled it from her mouth once more. Lazily she drew the ice cube over his now naked chest laughing softly as Alec shivered under her. He bit off the automatic protest before it left his lips that the ice was damn cold. That was fairly obvious. But he didn't have that much to complain about as her lips followed the wet path she'd made across his chest. Encountering his pecs, Max rubbed closed lips first against one hardened nipple before moving to the other. It was no surprise that his body reacted that way, given the rapid temperature changes.

He gasped a little as Max returned to the first nub, grazing her teeth over the hardened flesh. It wasn't that, but the fact that with her free hand, she was rubbing the ice cube in slow, tiny circles over his other nipple.

Damn Maxie," he panted out, shivering from the contact with the frozen water.

"Cold?" she asked archly and Alec chuckled, nodding.

"Just slightly," he whispered.

"Oh, poor baby," she harrumphed gently. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Definitely," Alec agreed. But instead of doing so, Max dipped the ice cube back into the drink, swirling it trough the heavier mixture of liqueurs before fishing it out again. With a warning that was more promise in her eyes, Max leaned over him again to continue drawing the ice over his flesh. Alec, now that he had warning about what she was doing, was finding that he was enjoying the contradictory sensations she was producing. The warmth of her body against his, followed by the stinging ice and then soothed away as her lips trailed after the ice, sipping up the liquid as she went. He was reminded absurdly of when he'd patterned chocolate syrup all over her body, washing it from her with his tongue. He wondered if his skin tasted as sweet as hers had. Of course, even with the alcohol included this time around, he was sure that he wasn't as intoxicating as Max was to him that night.

Or maybe he was misjudging her enjoyment, he thought as he listened to the moan that escaped her lips as she scooted back to follow the trail of liquid that had trailed down his chest, to pool at the muscles of his abdomen.

"You know babe," he whispered, as Max bent over to continue her ministrations. "I'm wondering if two can play at this game?"

"If you think you can handle it," Max grinned up at him, her face framed by the curtain of her hair.

"Come here," Alec murmured, reaching with one hand for the glass, to move it out of harm's way, while the other reached under her shirt, beginning to push it up.

"Oh God," Max groaned softly. "I feel like I'm on fire Alec."

"I know babe," he whispered back. "I know." He lifted the glass to her lips, allowing her a small sip. But she pulled the glass away when he would have taken one for himself, instead offering herself again to him. Alec happily accepted the small rush of liquid from her lips again, loving the velvety smoothness of the vodka and the creaminess of the creme de menthe. But above all was the sultry, dark exotic taste of his girl.

Long moments later, shaken by the new experience, Alec carefully opened his eyes, blinking against his stunned amazement. That had just never happened to him before, coming so damn close to losing control like that. Thank God that it had been with Max and not someone he could have really hurt. Alec bit his lip, wondering what Max would have to say about all this. He glanced down at her, her head resting on his thigh as she stroked the opposite one, a small smile playing at her lips. He didn't realize until he'd actually looked that he was stroking her hair, his other hand cupping her cheek.

"Well that was interesting," Max finally chuckled, looking absurdly pleased with herself.

"Very," he couldn't help but agree.

_At the same time, at Fogle Towers_

"So I've got some dinner if you're hungry," Logan pointed out to his guest. Asha smiled and nodded, accepting the glass of wine from him, seeing that Logan had produced what would be termed a light snack for him, but a gourmet high tea to anyone else. Finger sandwiches, petit fours, hors d'oeuvre and canapes lined a large tray placed on the coffee table.

"Maybe just a little," Asha smiled, truly appreciating the trouble that Logan went to. Some days she was hard pressed just to bother throwing together a sandwich for herself. She leaned over and picked up what looked like a cucumber and cheese sandwich that had been pressed flat. Logan thoughtfully provided a napkin across her lap and Asha blushed, ducking her head a little. Logan just grinned happily, glad that he had someone to appreciate and enjoy his culinary talents. "So what are we working on tonight?" Asha asked after she had chewed and swallowed her bite of the tiny sandwich.

"Oh," Logan turned and reached for a manila file folder that he'd left resting on the back of the couch. Asha took a healthy mouthful of the white wine that Logan had given her and her eyes nearly crossed. The manila folder meanwhile, had decided to be stubborn and release it's contents, which Logan barely managed to catch in time. Asha's eyes darted back and forth as she pondered what the hell to do. Finally, with no other choice, since there was no way in hell that she was going to swallow that! Just as Logan turned back to her, Asha spit the wine back into her goblet.

Logan's eyes widened upon seeing this, but he only muttered lowly, "problem?"

"Um, yeah," Asha hedged, setting the glass on the coffee table, along with the sandwich. "It uh, doesn't taste quite right."

"What?" Logan wrinkled his nose in amusement. He reached for his own glass and took a sniff. "Seems fine to me." He upended the glass and did a double-take and like Asha, spit the contents back. "Oh my God!" he rasped out. "That taste's like goat piss! What did you do to it?"

Asha's eyes narrowed, stunned for several reasons. The most important being, how on earth would Logan know what goat piss would taste like. That was just disgusting. Too disgusting. And second, why the hell... "you're blaming me?" she demanded, outraged. "It's your wine," she tried to point out reasonably. "You're the one that poured it."

"You're right," Logan murmured sheepishly, apologetically. "I'm sorry. The wine just probably turned and I didn't realize it. Let me go get something else."

"Okay," Asha smiled and sighed. Well, the evening could be salvaged. Just a bumpy little start. While she waited, Asha reached over and began to rifle through the file that Logan had been about to share with her. She'd only read through about half the first page when a rage-filled yell startled her out of her reverie. "What the-!"

"I'm going to kill somebody!"

Was that Logan? It certainly sounded like him. Well, his voice anyways. Asha had just never heard him so filled by... random violent tendencies. Worried, she shoved the file aside and hurried into the kitchen. Logan, his fists curled around the counter top edge, so tightly that his knuckles were pure white, his head bowed, seemed to be trying to bring himself under control. Asha glanced at several open bottles of wine on the counter before him.

"Logan?" she asked cautiously.

"Ruined!" he pronounced without lifting his head. "Every single one of them. Ruined! Even the one that I was saving for... well."

Puzzled, Asha reached for one of the bottles and brought it to her nose. It smelled like turpentine. She heard a muffled noise and turned to see Logan's shoulders shaking softly. Was he crying?

"Um..." Asha hedged, easing the bottle back to the counter. "Maybe I should just go. Let you deal with this." And before Logan could respond, she was out of the kitchen like a shot, retrieving her coat from the front hall closet. That had been, just ...weird. "Maybe I'm not too late to head to Crash for Alec and Max's party," she muttered to herself as she darted out the front door. Turning down an invite to a chocolate party had been hard and Asha realized as she waited for the elevator, that she should have gone with her instincts that night and gone with the free chocolates instead of other, hoped for goodies.

Back inside the apartment, Logan barely noticed that Asha was gone. His entire collection of Pre-Pulse wines was just ruined. Absolutely ruined. He'd ended up opening every single bottle he owned. And everyone of them had something wrong with it. How on earth could that have happened. One bottle turning, that was acceptable. It happened occasionally. But every single bottle?

Logan reached mournfully for the bottle of Chablis that he'd been holding on to. Max always showed a marked preference for it and he'd been saving it for the day... He rubbed his thumb over the label, startled suddenly when he realized that the glue must have been affected as well, as the paper slid under his thumb. Puzzled, Logan pulled the label from the bottle, wondering if someone had broken into his apartment and maybe steamed off the labels from his bottles and simply pasted them on other wine bottles. That seemed like the easiest explanation but... and then he froze. For there was a message printed under the label on a plain white piece of plastic labellings.

_For your Eyes Only._


End file.
